SUPERBRANDS ANNUAL 2014
MCDONALD’S
Recent Developments
McDonald’s takes its responsibilities to
its people very seriously. It aims to hire
talented individuals with the right attitude
and qualities to fulfil their potential. People
who can stand out from the crowd and
deliver the high standards of quality, service
and cleanliness expected in its restaurants.
McDonald’s is particularly proud of the
development opportunities it offers.
Brand History
mcdonalds.co.uk
Market
McDonald’s UK business falls into the
informal eating out sector and sits
alongside key players such as KFC,
Burger King, Subway and Greggs. In
the third quarter of 2013 McDonald’s
UK moved into its 30th consecutive
quarter of growth, displaying consistency
throughout a challenging global economy.
Its resilience reflects the brand’s ongoing
strength and demonstrates that continued
customer focus and investments aimed at
modernising the restaurant experience are
driving profitable market share growth.
As the world’s largest chain
of quick service restaurants,
McDonald’s serves more
than 64 million people in
118 countries each day. In
the UK, there are over 1,200
restaurants serving around
three million people daily and
employing more than 92,500
staff, with £43 million invested
Product
in training and development
As a restaurant McDonald’s believes in
each year. As a part-franchised
the integrity of its end product – its food
– the quality of which depends on
organisation, more than 65
the raw ingredients used at the
per cent of McDonald’s
first stage of the supply chain.
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All raw ingredients are produced to
exacting specifications and high standards.
In its UK restaurants, for instance, all eggs
are free range. McDonald’s signature
French Fries are made predominantly from
UK-grown potatoes from four key varieties
(Pentland Dell, Russett Burbank, Shepody
and Innovator), contain no animal extracts
and are cooked in 100 per cent nonhydrogenated vegetable oil.
The milk used by McDonald’s UK
restaurants – in products ranging from
freshly ground coffee, to sundaes and
McFlurry® desserts – is also sourced from
British and Irish farms, and only 100 per
cent British and Irish beef goes into the
patties used in the UK’s iconic burgers.
All McDonald’s fish menu items are
certified by the Marine Stewardship
Council (MSC) and the company works
closely with the MSC on its sustainable
seafood strategy to ensure that its offering
does not feature endangered species.
All pork on the McDonald’s UK menu is
the same or comparable standards sourced from 100 per cent British Freedom
Food-approved farms that adhere to strict
for all agricultural raw materials
RSPCA animal welfare standards.
regardless of where they are sourced.
RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE
CHARITIES IS AN INDEPENDENT
CHARITY WHICH PROVIDES FREE
'HOME AWAY FROM HOME'
ACCOMMODATION TO
AT
6,000 FAMILIES
EACH YEAR
14 HOSPITALS
ACROSS THE UK.
1973
McDonald’s Golden Arches Restaurants
Ltd is founded in the UK.
1974
The first UK restaurant opens in
Woolwich, London.
1984
McDonald’s becomes the first UK quick
service restaurant group to introduce
nutritional information countrywide for
the benefit of customers.
1989
The company’s name changes to
McDonald’s Restaurants Ltd and the
Ronald McDonald House Charity
(RMHC) is created. The following year,
the first Ronald McDonald House opens
at Guy’s Hospital, London.
1994
McDonald’s celebrates 20 years in the
UK and raises £1.1 million for RMHC’s
Big Smile Appeal.
1998
McDonald’s introduces free range eggs
on to its breakfast menu.
2000
McDonald’s UK launches its website.
2003
A new global campaign is launched –
‘i’m lovin’ it’.
2004
Salads are introduced – the biggest
change to the UK menu for 30 years.
Wi-Fi is introduced in around 500
restaurants.
2007
McDonald’s becomes the UK’s biggest
retailer of coffee from Rainforest
Alliance certified farms and organic
semi skimmed milk is introduced for
teas and coffees.
2010
McDonald’s UK becomes a Presenting
Partner of the London 2012 Games
Maker initiative; it is the first
commercial partner to sponsor an
Olympic volunteer programme.
2012
During the 29 days of London’s 2012
Olympic and Paralympic Games,
McDonald’s four Olympic Park
restaurants serve over 1.75 million
meals.
2013
McDonald’s UK switches to using pork
from British Freedom Food approved
farms across its entire menu.
Achievements
McDonald’s and its franchisees employ
more than 92,500 people across the UK,
having created 6,000 new jobs in the last
two years alone. McDonald’s commitment
to being a modern and progressive
employer has garnered numerous
accolades for the brand, including Investor
in People Gold Status for the past four
years and being named one of The Sunday
Times 25 Best Big Companies to Work For
in 2011, 2012 and 2013.
In addition, McDonald’s has featured in the
Great Place to Work® Top 50 consistently
since 2007, and has been placed in The Times
Top 100 Graduate Employers since 1999.
Every year, it invests over £43 million in
developing its people. As a result, all 90,000
employees are given the opportunity to achieve
a broad array of qualifications – many of them
nationally recognised – with McDonald’s. Its
managers run restaurants with multimillion
pound turnovers, employing between 80
and 150 people and the majority of them run
restaurants in the local communities where
they started as crew. When people begin their
career with McDonald’s, one thing is for sure:
they will be offered a wide, diverse range of
training and opportunities.
In 1984, McDonald’s became the first
UK quick service restaurant company to
publish detailed nutritional information
about its food. Over the years it has added
nutritional information to its tray-liners and
packaging, and in September 2011 went
Promotion
In line with its ethos of putting people at the heart of everything it does, McDonald’s
has been Community Partner of the four UK Football Associations since 2002. It has
helped drive the training and recruitment of more than 25,000 community coaches,
offering two million hours of free football training to young players across the UK.
As the Presenting Partner of the London 2012 Games Maker programme,
McDonald’s used its experience and expertise to help attract, select and train the
70,000 volunteers (from around 250,000 applicants) that were required to make
London 2012 a success.
further by ensuring that all McDonald’s
UK restaurants display the calorie content
of all menu items on the menu boards
– the point at which customers choose
their food. The restaurant experience was
further enhanced in 2011 through the
roll-out of a contactless payment system,
which introduces added convenience for
customers. Launched jointly with Visa
Europe in all 1,200 UK restaurants, it is
one of the UK’s largest roll-outs of the
technology.
Brand Values
McDonald’s is guided by its belief in a
‘three legged stool’ approach, with
franchisees, company staff and suppliers all
working together for mutual benefit.
McDonald’s has always had a strong sense
of social responsibility, with its founder, Ray
Kroc, believing in the duty of businesses to
put something back into the communities
in which they operate. This principle is
incorporated into McDonald’s culture by
placing the customer experience at the heart
of the brand, through its ethical operations,
and in its commitment to contributing to
local communities.